The Democratic Presidential debates happened last week in Westerville, Ohio, on the campus of Otterbein College. This Democratic Presidential debate had 12 candidates that met the qualifications to participate – the most ever at one time onstage.

During the debate, there were no formal questions concerning college-aged students, which was surprising as it was held on a college campus, and many of the 1500+ attendees were college students.

However, During a question about the economy, Sanders and Warren agreed on free public college for everyone, whereas Mayor Pete agreed to “making college free for low- and middle-income students.”

Warren and Sanders also spoke on student loan debt forgiveness.

Sanders remarked, “you’ve got hundreds of thousands of kids who cannot afford to go to college, and millions struggling with the oppressive burden of student debt,” and he plans on “making public colleges and universities tuition fee and canceling student debt.”

Warren’s plans, stated during the debate, are more expansive. She wants to “provide universal childcare for every baby in this country, age zero to five, universal pre-K for every child, raise the wages of every childcare worker and preschool teacher in America, provide for universal tuition-free college, put $50 billion into historically black colleges and universities… and [to] cancel student loan debt for 95 percent of the people who have it.”

Most questions focused on President Trump, the economy, gun laws, the opioid crisis, and women’s rights. Breaking up monopolies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook were also discussed.

An unexpected question at the end of the debate was about Ellen and her unlikely friendship with former President George W. Bush.

Anderson Cooper asked the candidates, “Last week, Ellen DeGeneres was criticized after she and former President George W. Bush were seen laughing together at a football game. Ellen defended their friendship, saying, we’re all different, and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK that we’re all different.So, in that spirit, we’d like you to tell us about a friendship that you’ve had that would surprise us and what impact it’s had on you and your beliefs.”

Most candidates came up with the name of a friend that was unexpected and discussed that friendship while a few spoke about general friendships and how important it is to create friendships with people who are different.

In the past weeks, the media has been buzzing about a scandal between President Donald J Trump and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but has the Defiance College Campus been buzzing?

–No, not really.

Santana Villarreal, a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer aiming for his MBA, commented that “I never heard much about this scandal, I don’t follow politics.”

Nate Hall, a Junior Business and Education major, expressed surprise at this scandal. “I haven’t watched the news much, I’ve been focusing on other things.” He said, showing that students have not been paying attention to this scandal involving the U.S. and Ukraine.

The scandal began, according to a New York Times story printed in a May 1st edition, as “a foreign policy role Joseph R. Biden Jr. enthusiastically embraced during his vice presidency: browbeating Ukraine’s notoriously corrupt government to clean up its act”.

At one of his most memorable meetings with Ukraine’s government, during a trip to Kiev in March 2016, former Vice President Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in United States loan guarantees if Ukraine’s leaders did not dismiss the country’s top prosecutor, who had been accused of turning a blind eye to corruption in his own office and among the political elite.”

The prosecutor was dismissed, in the middle of several investigations.

However, there may have been an ulterior motive for Biden’s trips. “Among those who had a stake in the outcome was Hunter Biden, Mr. Biden’s younger son, who at the time was on the board of an energy company (Burisma) owned by a Ukrainian oligarch who had been in the sights of the fired prosecutor general.”

As NBC has written, “there’s no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of either Biden.”

According to a press release from Biden’s team states, “…the conspiracy theory, which had long been conclusively debunked, has fallen apart even more.

On April 21st, a phone call involving President Trump putting pressure on then-President-electZelensky to reopen the investigation on Biden. The pressure involved the withholding of aid to Ukraine until such a time as the investigation into Biden is reopened.

This claim against the President was by an anonymous whistleblower who does not have first–hand detail of the call but rather heard about it after the fact.

This is a complex issue including claims to begin the impeachment of
President Trump, but it doesn’t seem to have impacted students.

In order to get bigger, you need to eat more calories but healthy calories. There is a difference between a handful of almonds and a handful of gummy bears.

Chris Shank, Strength and Conditioning Coordinator

“Have a plan,” Chris Shank, a Strength and Conditioning Coordinator at Defiance College. He states, “A lot of people will sit there, especially young athletes, with working out very little and eating whatever they want. That’s why you need to have a plan. {You] need to know how many carbs, protein, and fats per week, per day, per meal,” Shank said. “There’s good weight, and there’s bad weight,” Shank said. To reach your goals of getting bigger, you have to have a plan of what you eat for every time you put food in your mouth.

Supplements are something people all around the U.S. take to help them bulk up like protein powder and creatine. But supplements are not always the best thing for your body and can also be unsafe. “Anyone can, if you have the right marketing, just put a label on a supplement and have it say get big,” Shank said. Be sure to do your research on what is in the supplement you’re using because there could be something in there that you don’t like the way your body feels when taking it.

Nate Hall, a Junior Education and History major at Defiance College, intakes 4000 to 5000 calories a day and works out for about an hour and a half per day. “Best thing for building muscle is diet, it’s about 80% diet, and 20% is lifting,” Hall said.

It is recommended to work all your muscles to bulk up evenly, such as biceps, triceps, chest, legs, back, etc. But you should work them at certain times of the week. “Generally, if you take three days off of lifting for a certain body part or muscle group, then that’s when you start to see gains,” Shank said.

There’s a facility on campus that allows you to work out just for being a Defiance College student, which is the George M. Smart Center. Another option, however, is not on campus. The local Defiance YMCA, located at 1500 Palmer Drive, supplies students with a free membership using your student ID. For more info visit: https://defianceymca.org/

With a special appearance by the 1969 Alumni team and a week set with activities, homecoming is bound to be full of great experiences.

Talking with Head Football Coach Manny Matsakis,he remarked, “We should have a good crowd with alumni coming back.The 1969 undefeated football team with a Record 9-0 is coming back for their 50th anniversary.” The team will be getting inducted into the Hall of Fame.

According to Coach Matsakis,the focus heading into homecoming week for the team is to continue “working on us instead of worrying about what opponent we are playing against. We will be playing the defending conference champions Hanover College at home.”

“It’s the first actual home game in the stadium because the first game of the year we played Thursday night at Defiance High school.”Kick-off for the game is at 1:30 pm.

The students can look forward to multiple activities this week as well. Along with students receiving free entry to all events with their student ID, there are many other adventures planned. Lisa Marsalek, Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students and Title IX Coordinator said in an email the homecoming events will be as follows:

Monday night will be a movie night at the Northtowne Cinema

Tuesday will be Axe throwing, giant corn hole, Human billiards

Wednesday Homecoming T–shirts will be given away

Thursday there will be a bonfire between the residence Halls with S’mores

Friday is Lunchtime Bingo in the Café and ScreamAcres in Napoleon, Ohio. Transportation will be provided.

Saturday is tailgating Before the football team takes on Hanover.

Homecoming week is also about the Homecoming court.

One of last year nominates, Brooke Gostomsky, an Exercise Science/Pre-Physical Therapy Major, explained the nomination process. got an email that she was on the ballot and needed to head over to the office of student life. There she had her picture taken for the ballot that is emailed to all students. After she got selected to represent her junior class, she was invited to the alumni dinner on the Friday before the homecoming game. On the Saturday of homecoming, before the game began, all of the selected students are announced in order of their class-leading up to the homecoming court King and Queen.

This year’s court consists of Julia Yeager and Noah Svanvery representing the freshman class, Kelsie Shafer and Matt Cline as our Sophomore attendant and escort, Kayln Pickens and Lucas Thomeier for the Junior Class. The Senior Attendants are Jessica Mello, Blake Newman, and Whitney Webb. The Senior Escorts this year are Zac Brazen, Chris Keys, and Jason Santora.

This season, the Women’s Golf team faces what some people might consider a setback–the number of players on the roster.

The Women’s Golf team consists of just two members; Shelby Mercer and Maricella Najar. Mercer is a Sophomore and Najar is a freshman.

DC’s roster number can be discouraging at times, but with a positive attitude and hard work, Najar and Mercer are determined to make this Fall season a season to remember.

The members of the golf team have been working together to compete at a high level despite the talent and numbers that are present in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC).

All of the Yellow Jacket’s competitors in the HCAC all roster five or more members to a team. With the decrease in rostered players for DC, the team realizes just how important it is to stay focus and determined. Keeping a positive mindset going into practice and matches is key for the program.

According to Mercer, the Yellow Jacket’s season is going well. Practices are the best for getting more work in on fixing their swings, correcting their grip and posture, improving ball control, and perfecting putting and chipping.

These practices allow them to encourage one another to keep pushing to reach their goals. Practices put the focus on each member’s strengths and weaknesses. By determining those and working hard to improve them, the Yellow Jackets grow together as a team.

“The season is going well. I have had some amazing shots and every time I play, I just keep getting better.” Mercer remarks.

As the season continues on, Najar and Mercer maintain their focus, determination, and competitiveness. The team has big plans for their upcoming matches as they approach the end of the Fall season.

By far, the Yellow Jackets are most determined to beat conference rivals, Bluffton.

According to Mercer, the Women’s Golf rivalry between Defiance and Bluffton runs deep. “I take rivals seriously so I make sure I play my very best going up against them.” The team wishes to outscore Bluffton and overtake the Beaver’s standings within the HCAC.

Like any team in the HCAC, the Yellow Jackets wish to finish at the top of the conference this season. According to the HCAC Women’s Golf Standings, Mount St. Joseph University Lions (Cincinnati, OH) is top of the pack, holding the first place spot.

Following behind the Lions, is Anderson University (Anderson, IN), Hanover College (Hanover, IN), Franklin College (Franklin, IN), and Manchester University (Manchester, IN).

DC’s rival, Bluffton sits one spot ahead of the Yellow Jackets, ranking seventh overall. The Yellow Jackets are determined to bump their standing prior to the offseason and tournament action.

Working hard day in and day out, constantly pushing themselves to better their swings, and dedicating themselves during practice and matches, the Women’s Golf team strives towards excellence.

For additional information on the men’s or women’s golf team, contact Coach Allen Curtiss at (c) 419-956-7055 or acurtiss@defiance.edu

There are currently 39 people on the Esports roster at Defiance College and Head Coach Corey Parks is looking for more.

The focus of Coach Parks has this year is to recruit as many people as he can. “If you like video games, come on down to the esports program,” Parks said.

Esports is any electronic game that has a group of people to play.Much like any sporting event, there are set dates for when the team plays. “You compete throughout the course of one or two months; then you have playoffs and if you make the top eight…[those] teams will go to one specific spot to compete and that’s your league,” Parks said.

“The thing about esports is that games can pop up left and right; it really just comes down to the communities,” Parks said.

The games that the esports team play throughout the year include: Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Melee, Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Rocket League.

Coach Parks plans to incorporate the streaming platform called Twitch this year. “So being able to increase our stream for people that know what’s happening is probably one of the biggest goals right now along with the great overall experience in the program,” Parks said.

Along with Twitch, Parks wants to recruit a broadcaster to talk about what’s going on throughout competitions. “Most programs have a Twitch and they also have a broadcaster, but I really want to push to the next level and get people out here that know their stuff so we can really grow our stream,” Parks said.

Parks explains how he came to the realization that the people watching need a broadcaster to know what’s going on during competitions, “I was so caught up in the world of esports that I thought everyone else knew what I knew.”

Along with his big goal to set up a stream, CoachParks just wants everyone in the program to have fun.

Parks is very experienced in the world of esports,and even just gaming in general.

Parks started playing video games at age 10 years old, entered his first competitive scene at 15 for Counterstrike, and went professional at age 18.

For more information contact Coach Parks at cparks@defiance.edu. Or stop by the esports arena which is located in the downstairs area of the Pilgrim Library.

Last week the country celebrated National Voter Registration Day. It falls on the fourth Tuesday in September. The holiday is to promote awareness to eligible adults about voter registration so that no one misses the deadline to register. Everyone can then vote in the upcoming elections without interruptions.

First celebrated in 2012, National Voter Registration started its campaign to get the word out. As stated by the NationalVoter Registration Daywebsite, “Every year millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote because they miss a registration deadline, don’t update their registration, or aren’t sure how to register. National Voter Registration Day wants to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote.”

To be eligible to vote, according to USA.gov, adults must be U.S. citizens, meet their home state residency requirements and be at least 18 years old before election day. They are also required to be registered. Unless you are from North Dakota as they do not require registration, everyone else that is eligible will need to register to vote.

Students must meet all requirements to vote in future elections.

For students that are not registered and wish to become a valid voter, there are the many ways to register.

For those unable to register in person, most states now allow online registration. It is available for 38 states and the District of Columbia. Check here to see if your state has online registration. Other options for students not registered is to “download the National Mail Voter Registration Form. You can fill it out on screen and print the completed form, or print the blank form and fill it out by hand.” Then mail it to your local election office.

For those students who would rather register in person, there are many options in location to visit and sign up to vote. Head to your local Board of Elections office where they can help you fill out the proper forms to get registered. Also, check your local department of motor vehicle office or armed forces recruitment center as most of the location can register you. Your state and county public assistance offices may also be able to register voters.